Stories Water means here and there that water is the mother of tea. Indeed, over 99% of a cup of tea is ultimately composed of water. This means if the quality of water used to prepare the tea is important!
However, before anything else, it is important not to forget the tea, because the best water will not make good a bad tea! Conversely, a very good tea will fare with honors even with no top water. Of course, for this, saying that there is at least one base have to be followed: Always boil water 3 to 5 minute before use, make it cool to desired temperature. There are two reasons for this.
The first, remove chlorine from tap water.
The second, whatever the water used in the escape of oxygen, which prevents the tea leaves to infuse properly. To understand why, I always take the next picture, and when you soak in your bath, you will notice a multitude of small bubbles form on your skin, well, it happens roughly the same on the leaves of a tea immersed in water too rich in oxygen. These "bubbles" by their attendance, reduce the leaf surface in contact with water, resulting in a stale liquor.
After this point, the question that arises then is the type of water. To prepare a good Japanese tea, you should use a low mineral water, a water called "soft" in Japan, ie containing less than 100mg of calcium carbonate and magnesium per liter. Water is called "hard" will tend to give a liquor insipid, with little flavor, tinged with a kind of white precipitate (Probably a reaction of some ions with catechin). If calcium and magnesium in the origin of the "hardness" of water is present as a hydrate, boiling will drive down the hardness of water. However, if they are present as chloride and sulphate, boiling will have no effect.
Japan's tap water is slightly mineralized, so no problems. Unfortunately, this is not the case in Europe. The ideal is to use a mineral water low mineral or filtered tap water (beware of the filtered water too!).
can then noted that more water is acidic, More liquor is pale, conversely, the more water is basic, take over the liquor dark and reddish hues.
From more than 200 mg / L of sodium, we see the emergence of a salty taste unpleasant for tea, despite a decrease in astringency.
Iron and manganese also have a bad influence on the color of the liquor, shades of red, brown.
much for the information theoretical techniques ultimately quite boring. In summary, a low mineral water, boiled before use.
For the record, my water from my house, tap, Department of Chiba, unfiltered tap water and the shop, Tokyo, filtered. The city of Tokyo and its governor, Shintaro Ishihara Sir, we provide high quality water known, and it's true it's good. In addition, filtered. In general, the same tea, will be better, with this water with that of my home. The flavors are stronger, more clearly defined, and most importantly, what are the flavors that stand out particularly well. The liquors are less live, sometimes yellow-green, while clearly green at home. Exceptions (do not ask me why), tea-like shadow (
Gyokuro ,
kabuse -cha) find a better balance with the water from my house!
Finally, some tell me that this is an easy position to take as we live in a country where tap water quite well enough in Japanese tea, but I think he should not do an obsession with the water problem. Say, finding a suitable water, and then point, do not do too much, and focus on the discovery of many teas.
